Ashok Gehlot vs Sachin Pilot: The never-ending feud between the two Rajasthan leaders explained

Even as Ashok Gehlot has indicated that he will be contesting the upcoming Congress presidential polls, the Congress veteran has taken a fresh dig at his bitter rival Sachin Pilot.

Gehlot, who has been unwilling to cede any space to his former deputy in Rajasthan, in a continuation of the long-running feud, on Wednesday told the state MLAs he would not be far from them and added that he would do anything that benefits the party including ‘holding two or three’ posts.

Should Gehlot give up the chief minister’s chair, Pilot, his former deputy, would be a prime candidate to fill it.

Let’s take a look at the latest between the two rivals and why they have been at loggerheads:

Gehlot fires fresh salvo

As per NDTV, Gehlot, told MLAs he would file his nomination for the Congress chief’s post but “tha soon door nahi (I will not be far from you).”

. “Main kahin nahin ja raha, chinta mat karo (I am not going anywhere, don’t worry),” Gehlot added, making it clear he had no intention of giving up the chief minister’s chair.

Sources further told NDTV, Gehlot wants a loyalist seated in Rajasthan if he needs to move to Delhi. And that if that is not feasible, then keep both rolls.

Interestingly, Pilot was not present for the meeting.

Pilot downplays remark

Pilot, meanwhile, downplayed the remark when asked about the meet, saying that the party’s objective was to win Rajasthan again.

Indian Express quoted Pilot as saying, “Our objective is to win Rajasthan again obviously. And like Mr Mistry [Chairman of the Congress’ Central Election Authority Madhusudan Mistry> has clarified, anybody can file a nomination to fight the elections but let’s wait and see for a few days how things develop, I don’t wish to speculate.”

This election process will strengthen the party for sure. Who will fight and who will be the contestants is yet to be seen,” Pilot told Indian Express.

“The party has passed a resolution for Rahul ji to contest. And the ultimate decision is with him to contest or not,” he said when asked about Rahul.

Queried about Gehlot’s statement about holding ‘two or three posts’ Pilot responded, “From the media reports I’ve seen, I would like to say for now that we want the Congress party to win Rajasthan state elections again.”

Gehlot, the establishment’s choice

Gehlot, should he likely contest, would be the front-runner for the Congress president’s post and the ‘establishment candidate’ against the ‘outsider’ G-23 member Tharoor.

This, despite Sonia telling Tharoor she would ‘stay neutral’ in the upcoming polls and that anybody can contest elections.

After all, in August, Sonia in a meeting with Gehlot requested the Congress stalwart to take over leadership of the party before she went abroad for a medical check-up.

Gehlot has emerged as the ‘establishment pick’ due to his status as a Congress veteran and trusted lieutenant of the Gandhis.

As per India Today, his immense political experience could be acceptable to the old and new guard alike.

As per News18, Gehlot’s administrative and organisational experience and the fact that he’s one of the longest-serving and successful chief ministers play to his benefit with rank and file and within high-command.

Besides, Sonia is keen that history not repeat itself.

As per News18, Sonia Gandhi recalls how Sitaram Kesri, when she had not entered politics, kept her and her loyalists out.

Sonia ultimately stepped in when the party was on the verge of a major split.

The Congress’ performance during the previous Gujarat polls is also a factor as the Gandhis believe Gehlot is the man for the job.

The Gandhis are also hoping Gehlot’s elevation to party chief clears up the chief minister’s seat in Rajasthan and can thus satiate Sachin Pilot’s long-pending demand, as per News18.

As per India Today, Gehlot has in the past expressed a reluctance to run for the post with people familiar with his thinking offering a slew of reasons including knowing it will be a tightrope walk for a non-Gandhi to lead the party with very little room to manoeuvre, his love of his current job, being adamant at wanting to lead the party in the upcoming Assembly polls, and an unwillingness to pass it on to his former deputy Pilot.

Gehlot also told MLAs that he would try to convince Rahul Gandhi “one last time” to take over as the party president, as per NDTV.

Gehlot has also previously urged Rahul Gandhi to take up the mantle of party chief.

While Rahul seemingly remains unwilling to change his stance, some G-23 leaders believe resolutions backing Rahul are being passed by the PCCs at the behest of the leadership to prepare the ground for him to “change his mind”, as per Indian Express.

A long, contentious history

This is just the latest salvo in the long-running war of words between Gehlot and Pilot.

While many argue the men have been at odds since 2018, some say the seeds were planted in 2013 when the Congress was at its lowest ebb in Rajasthan –  winning just 21 of 200 seats in Assembly polls – and Pilot was given the task of reviving the grand old party’s fortunes with the assurance of non-interference by Gehlot.

Gehlot, with his long list of achievements — chief minister at 47, former PCC chief and the spearhead of multiple successful state campaigns — was reportedly consigned to the side-lines for the next couple of years in favour of Pilot.

Gehlot was drafted into a screening committee for the Punjab polls in 2016 and made a general-secretary in Delhi in 2017, while Sachin Pilot delivered three crucial by-poll wins for the Congress in early 2018.

Differences emerged between the two men of candidate selection for the Assembly polls.

Then, when Rajasthan returned the Congress to power, things began falling apart with party high command passing over Pilot in favour of its old warhorse Gehlot.

Rahul Gandhi, the then Congress president, was forced to intervene and soothe the feelings of an infuriated Pilot and his supporters.

Congress rout, Vaibhav’s defeat in 2019

After the Lok Sabha election in 2019 where the party lost all 25 seats, Gehlot said Pilot should take responsibility for his son Vaibhav’s defeat in Jodhpur

Vaibhav went down  by BJP’s Gajendra Singh Shekhawat by a huge margin of 2,74,440 votes.

The loss of the prestige seat (Gehlot had held it five times from 1980 to 1999) did not sit well with the chief minister.

Gehlot, in an interview with ABP News, said there should be a post-mortem of Congress performance in Rajasthan and lashed out at Pilot.

“Sachin Pilot said we will win Jodhpur with comfortable margin as we have six MLAs in the constituency. Our campaign was good. I feel he (Sachin Pilot) should own responsibility for that seat (Jodhpur) at least,” Gehlot said.

Asked if Sachin Pilot had recommended Vaibhav’s name for the Jodhpur seat, Ashok Gehlot said, “It’s a good thing if he says so. This will help dispel reports of differences between us.”

Gehlot later claimed his words were being taken “out of context”.

Pilot was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying that if the CM campaigned across the state instead of spending too much time in Jodhpur alone, the results could have been different.

Gehlot and Pilot have continued taking shots at each other while publicly claiming that there is no quarrel.

The flashpoint between Gehlot and Pilot came in September 2019 over the induction of six BSP MLAs into the party.

Just days after the BJP slammed the Rajasthan government over law and order issues, the young Congress leader alleged that the situation in his state had “deteriorated” and that the government needed to do more.

This was seen as little more than a thinly-veiled attack on his Gehlot, who held the home portfolio and caused quite a bit of embarrassment for the government.

Rift deepens

The rift further deepened by December.

When the Rajasthan government celebrated its year in office, Pilot, the then deputy chief minister wasn’t in the picture.

No posters or photographs of Pilot were seen and the achievement of his ministries were not mentioned in the booklet launched by the government.

“It would have been better if the works under my ministries were also showcased as part of the one-year celebrations of the government,” the Economic Times quoted a clearly upset Pilot as saying.

In January 2020, Pilot was openly lashing out at his own government over the deaths of 107 children in Kota’s state-run JK Lon Hospital, saying the response from the administration “should have been more sensitive.”

Rebellion and uneasy return

The matter came to a head in 2020, when Pilot rebelled against Gehlot and shifted to Delhi with 18 MLAs.

The stand-off ended only a month later after the Gandhis intervened.

The fallout saw the Congress sack Pilot as the Rajasthan deputy chief Minister and the state party chief.

Along with Pilot, two Rajasthan ministers who had joined the Pilot camp were also dropped from the cabinet.

Pilot then tweeted, “The truth can be harassed but not defeated.”

Before the municipal elections in Rajasthan, the state government had brought in a new rule that even unelected members could stand for the post of Mayor and head of municipalities. This reportedly didn’t go well with Pilot, who on several occasions, spoke against this and said that this will lead to back-door entry into civic bodies.

Later, the Gehlot government was forced to retract its decision.

A similar stand-off between the two leaders was seen after the acquittal of accused in the Pehlu Khan case, when Pilot said if the special investigation team (SIT) was formed earlier, the acquittal may not have happened.

In June 2022, Gehlot alleged that Pilot was in cahoots with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2020 to topple the Congress government. He claimed that Union Minister Shekhawat was “hand-in-glove” with Pilot during the revolt by Congress MLAs against his government two years ago.

Pilot, responding a couple of days later, said that no one should be upset if Rahul Gandhi praises him.

“Earlier also, Gehlot ji has said many things about me like ‘Nakara’ (useless), ‘Nikamma’ (idle),” Pilot said.

“During a programme in Delhi, former president Rahul Gandhi praised my patience. If a leader like Rahul Gandhi likes and appreciates my patience, then no one should be unnecessarily upset and should take it in the right spirit,” Pilot told reporters in Tonk.

Pilot further added Gajendra Singh Shekhawat became a Union minister because he won from Jodhpur in 2019 Lok Sabha elections despite Congress being in power in the state and that it was a mistake on the party’s part.

Jodhpur, of course, is the hometown of chief minister Gehlot whose son Vaibhav Gehlot had unsuccessfully contested against Shekhawat in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

What will happen next in this seemingly never-ending feud?

Keep watching.

With inputs from agencies